Offensive device carried by aircraft.



J. A. STEINMETZ.

OFFENSIVE DEVICE CARRIED BY AIRCRAFT.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30, 1914.

ATTORNEY.

upon a loop F, and to this loop is secured JOSEPH A. STEINMETZ, OF PI-IILADELIPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

OFFENSIVE DEVICE CARRIED BY AIRCRAFT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

Application filed April 30, 1914. Serial No. 835,453.

and exploding them 1n more or less close proximity to points of attack, the aircraft being meantime at a safe distance from the point of explosion and preferably beyond thereach of accurate gun fire.

The bombs employed vary in character according to the specialobject in view, sometimes containing high explosives only, sometimes being incendiary or adapted to seatter firebrands among ammunition sup lies, gasolene stores, etc., and sometimes arge shells adapted to project fragments, grape, or the like over a large area.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows in elevation an airship provided with my devices. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a common form of bomb sometimes employed.

In these figures, A represents any suitable aircraft, shown in this instance as a balloon of the dirigible type, provided with any desired form of hand or power operated reel 13, carrying a great length of wire 0. The air craft being at any desired height, a bomb D provided with an exploding device F is attached to the free end of the wire and lowered into the zone where destructive explosion is desired. This bomb as shown in Fig. 2 is of a kind in common use, explosion being caused by a pull a rigid rod F which forms above the bomb released by the aviator at the explosion is caused. A grapple G may when desired be attached to the loop F or the rod F in such manner that if the grapple engages any strongly resisting body, on the earth or in the air, an explosion will be caused automatically. Usually, several bombs, exploding weights, and grapples will be carried, so that after one explosion the unused wire may be drawn up and the entire operation be repeated.

The devices described may be used effectively and with little danger to the user if the airship be at great height in full day light and at a much less height at night or in a thick fog when search lights, small arms, or artillery are of practically no avail for defense against the use of my apparatus. It is also to be noted that high explosives create air pockets and vortices which bring down aeroplanes which are beyond the radius of direct destructive efiect, so that it is by no means necessary to produce explosion when the bomb is in close proximity to the craft to be destroyed.

Aside from actual destruction caused, the psychological efi'ect of an aerial attack against which there is no defense is highly important. For example, the'explosion of large shells above a body of troops by this means is far more demoralizing than the explosion of like shells from a battery in a fixed and known location. The provision of both automatic and non-automatic means for causing the explosions is of moment since it afl'ords not only a double assurance of explosion but adapts the same devices to be used for one or another purpose at a moments notice, now grappling a ship or building, for example, now exploding a bomb above a body of troops where the use of the grapple is not desired and where the bomb is most efi'ective when at a considerable height.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a suitable aircraft in flight, of a bomb suspended therefrom by a flexible connection, and a grapple supported also by said connection and arranged to explode the bomb upon its own engagement with any strongly resisting object.

2. The combination with a suitable airsaid connection while descending by gravcraft in flight, of a bomb suspended thereity. I from by a exible conneotion, grappling de- In testimony whereof I aflix my signavice arranged to explode the bomb when ture in presence of two witnesses.

itself on aged with any strongly resisting JOSEPH A. STEINMETZ. body, an a bomb-exploding weight releas- Witnesses: able at will at said aircraft and adapted to n E. M. CONREY,

slide upon and be guided to the bomb by H. G. VAN COURT. 3 

